Need some insight ..

My 11 week old kitten has gotten into the habit of getting really aggressive with herself, usually right before I turn off the lights at night. Her behavior is unprovoked, and normally lasts between 5 to 10 minutes even.

She starts by acting really annoyed at something. Then she'll began aggressively grooming her back and legs. After a while, she'll dash off madly, running around the house. When she sees her tail twitching and swishing from side to side, she'll attack it and let out a loud and low growl. She'll continue to be frustrated at chasing and attacking her own tail to the point where she'll hiss at it loudly! She'll twitch left and right, acting really aggressive as if something is really annoying and pestering her.

After a while, she'll calm down and crash. She'll go to sleep within seconds, panting from all the aggressiveness and breathing heavily.

I just don't get it. Her playtime usually lasts about 15 mins each session, at least three times a day. I have her run, chase, pounce, stalk, climb etc just o make sure she use up all her energy so she can have a good night sleep. She didn't start exhibiting this aggressiveness until about a week ago.

Any idea what is going on?

Perhaps she's pretending she's 2 cats - meaning she needs a playmate

I am looking into the possibility of getting her a playmate. My concern is she is not socialized with other feline friend at all, meaning she has no contact with any other cats. I only know one person who has a cat and her cat is a senior - 17 y/o - I doubt she will want to have a kitten as a playmate.

At her age, the adjustment to a playmate would bond quickly. Its not like you can take her to another's house and expect them to play. I meant, maybe you should consider adopting a 2nd kitten now if you can

Like so many issues with cats, I feel like the first question to be answered is, is it a physical issue, or is it a behavioral issue?

It could be a physical issue in that perhaps her lower back and/or tail is bothering her for some reason --- itchiness, inflammation, arthritis (but your cat is so young that arthritis is extremely unlikely). Fleas perhaps?

Or it could be behavioral, in the form of some sort of compulsive disorder.

But chances are, it's just a kitten being a kitten. Tail chasing is particularly common at her age and is benign. And maybe she is in fact wishing for a playmate as GoldenKitty suggested. I know that you said that you play with her quite a bit, and that's great, of course. But you can understand that in her mind there's no substitute for another member of her species who's available for her 24/7.

Of course, you don't want it to escalate to the point where she is biting it frequently and mutilating it and drawing blood. That's clearly a sign that something is very wrong.

For peace of mind, you might want to bring her to the vet at some point, if for nothing else than to rule out any physical problems.

Thanks RobertM! I would say her aggressiveness is purely behavioral. She is flea free and has no parasite infestation as far as the naked eye can see. Her vet gave her a clean bill of health two weeks ago when she went in for her booster shot.

It could be that she is displaying play aggressiveness with herself, which I am not sure if this is even possible. But she is not harming herself in anyway, more like frustration. She never bit her own tail or groom herself excessively. I will continue to monitor her behavior and will bring this up with her vet in two weeks time when it's time for her last booster/rabies shot.